Q&A: Where to Find Double-Walled Cardboard Boxes

Q: I was wondering if you could help me locate a supplier of double walled boxes, I need them for packing up my goods and shipping them back home. I have been told by the shipping company that regular single walled boxes (like the ones you find with goods stacked in them, e.g. washing powder), are not strong enough to endure shipping. So far I have only found single-walled boxes at my supermarkets and 100 Yen stores.

-A

HOW TO: Find Allergy-Friendly Food in Japan

Today I'm happy to share with you this fabulously helpful post from Kirsten Adachi of Cooking in Japan. If you have food allergies, and you're living in or moving to Japan, Kirsten has explained, with translations and phrases, everything you need to know. -Ashley

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A while ago someone on Twitter asked about soy free miso and was referred to me for help. After a quick Google search in Japanese I found out that you can buy miso (and soy sauce) made from quinoa. This piqued my interest despite not having any food allergies myself -- just sensitivities to things I don’t really like anyway (dairy and peanuts). I thought that this would be a perfect topic for Surviving in Japan.

Info source: Report from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (2002, 2005)Chart translated from here.

Food Allergens Required to be Labeled   材料7品目 (zairyou nana hinmoku)

Image source

If you look through food allergy information in Japan you will come across a list of seven over and over again. These are: eggs, milk, wheat, buckwheat, peanuts, shrimp and crab. Products containing these ingredients are required to be labeled.

Why these seven? According to the allergy handbook produced by the Japan Consumer Affairs Agency these seven allergens can produce the severest reactions (think anaphylactic shock). In Japan eggs, milk and wheat make up 70% of food allergies.

31 Worthwhile Japan Links From the Past Two Weeks - July 3

What's happenin' crane?

Hello again, friends! Another gathering of links for your perusal. Not as much commentary from me this week, though. We're in the midst of moving and I've got quite a few deadlines. But no worries, lots of great content headed your way! Enjoy!

Living in Japan

The curious case of the eroding eikaiwa salary (Japan Times) - If you work for an eikaiwa here in Japan, have you found this to be true as well?

How to Make a Natural Hot Spring in the Comfort of Your Own Home (RocketNews24) - Onsen water, to go?

Ministry mulls tax on overseas Net content (Japan Times) - I'm not thrilled at all about this one.

More Japanese motorists killed on expressways after exiting vehicles (The Japan Daily Press) - So be careful kids, when exiting a vehicle if you get into an accident.

Japan Ticket Association Offers Western Union Money Transfer Service (Japan Today)

New Japanese law could lead to jail time for illegal downloads (The Japan Daily Press)

Eco

Drink machine cold at night, off in day (Japan Times) - Sounds weird at first, I know, but it's not as bad as it sounds. Really.

Saitama Prefecture Introduces First "Green Roof" Convenience Store Project (Japan for Sustainability)

Tokyo Suburb Starts Car & Bike Sharing Program (Japan for Sustainability) 

Getting Involved

Local orphanages may be best bet for volunteers (Japan Times) - Interested in volunteering at a children's home? Here are some things you should know.

Cat Café & Foster Home “Ekoneko” Perfect if You Want to Relax With Cats or Rescue Them (RocketNews24) - Sounds Purrfect to me. :)

In shift, public increasingly wants larger role for dads in child-rearing (Japan Times)

Japan’s Human Trafficking Problems Not Resolved: US State Department (Japan Subculture Research Center)

Internet in Japan: Broadband (High-speed) Options and Basics

Are you heading to Japan this summer? Wondering what you're going to do about internet? Needless to say, trying to sort through all the internet information can be, for many of us, a bit daunting, confusing, and to put it bluntly, a headache. I've attempted to cover the basics of broadband internet in Japan today, with some help from Chris Green of Asahi Net. Asahi Net is a leading internet service provider (ISP) in Japan and the June sponsor of Surviving in Japan. And, as usual, I would love to hear your thoughts, stories and experiences regarding internet in Japan in the comments!

Two Types of Providers

First things first, as this might not be the case in your home country: Internet services in Japan are typically unbundled services (cable internet is usually not), meaning that one company usually provides the line and the other establishes the internet connection (in other words, the internet service provider, or ISP is typically separate from the company who sets up the line and rents you the modem, although this isn't always the case). As for companies that provide the line and hardware, NTT East and NTT West are the main ones, though KDDI and some other companies also provide these services, often because they lease the line from NTT East or NTT West.

ISPs, called プロバイダ (purobaida) in Japanese, are the ones that get you an internet connection. There are many, many of these around the country -- some of the big ones include Asahi Net, Yahoo BB, OCN, So-net, @nifty, Biglobe, etc. Most only offer Japanese support, so if you're looking for English, you might find some helpful information here, or check out Surviving in Japan's June sponsor, Asahi Net.

You can sign up with NTT East or NTT West on your own and then sign up for an ISP separately, if you prefer, or, you can sign up with an ISP and they will pass your application to NTT East or NTT West directly. You may either end up paying two bills each month, or a combined bill, depending on which option you go with and the ISP you choose.

And this is another possible service that can help get you hooked up (all in English).

Main Types of Broadband (High-speed) Internet in Japan

Fiber-optics / FTTH (Fiber to the home)  光ファイバー

Fiber optics, or FTTH, as it's also called, is the fastest and most popular option for internet in Japan, with a max speed of 100 or 200 Mbps (or 1 Gbps for the au Hikari service), depending on your location, and thus service and line/wiring. There are two types of FTTH: family/home type and "mansion" type. The former is usually for standalone houses (and is more expensive) and the latter for apartment buildings with several units. The mansion type is cheaper than the family type and ADSL. 

One downside to FTTH though is that it's not available everywhere yet, so depending on where you live, you might not even have the option for FTTH. Also, if it's not already installed in the building (if you live in an apartment building, etc.), you will have to request permission (via a special form) from the owner to have a line put in.

Connection time, from the time of application, can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks, or possibly longer during peak season (March/April and August/September, sometimes around the New Year holidays as well). If you're hooking up the mansion-type service, then it will probably be closer to two weeks, and if the family/home type, four weeks. These are just in general though; there are always exceptions.

We've been using FTTH for the past three years and it's worked out really well. We had to have the line installed in the beginning, but I started the process a month before moving so we had internet when we moved in.